After a stock offering fell short of expectations, Sierra Vista Bank (SVBA) in Folsom, Calif., plans to raise about $1.7 million through a securities purchase agreement with Taylor International Fund.

Synovus, a Georgia-based company, and CEO Kessel Stelling should be able to devote more resources to loan growth, industry observers say.

TCF Financial (TCB) in Wayzata, Minn., plans to raise $100 million by selling preferred equity at $25 a share.

The Treasury said Thursday that it should gross about $23.8 million from auctioning stakes in seven participants in the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The expected proceeds would represent a 9% discount from the nearly $26 million that the government originally invested in those banks.

MetLife, the global life insurer, said Wednesday that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has conditionally approved the company's deal to sell $6.5 billion in deposits from MetLife Bank to GE Capital Retail Bank (GE), GE's consumer-lending arm.

Synovus Financial in Columbus, Ga., has sold roughly $530 million of problem assets and expects to take a pretax charge of $155 million tied to the move.

Debt buyer Midland Funding will pay Minnesota $500,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the state that charged the firm with robo-signing affidavits in collection lawsuits.

BB&T (BBT) has created a new south Texas region and named a longtime employee as its president.

The good cop-bad cop routine works in bank M&A, says Prosperity CEO David Zalman, who misses his "good guy" Dan Rollins, who left for BancorpSouth.

Prosperity Bancshares in Houston sees Oklahoma as a nearby, familiar market with ample growth room and pledges more acquisitions after its $194 million deal for Coppermark Bancshares in Oklahoma City.

Astoria Financial (AF) could be a likely takeover target because of its recent emphasis on multifamily lending and a stock that is trading at a discount.

Amerasia Bank in New York has agreed to buy a troubled community bank in Florida. The $291 million-asset bank will acquire Great Eastern Bank of Florida, says Jimmy Tsai, Amerasia's chief operating officer.

The Treasury Department is scheduled on Tuesday to auction warrants to purchase 1.2 million shares of common stock in M&T Bank.

Prosperity Bancshares (PB) in Houston has agreed to buy Coppermark Bancshares in Oklahoma City, Okla., for $193.9 million in cash and stock.

The $5.8 billion-asset holding company of Chemical Bank in Midland, Mich., said Monday it has completed its $8.1 million purchase of 21 branches from Independent Bank (IBCP) in Ionia, Mich.

The $1.75 billion-asset company disclosed late last week that its purchase agreements with ValStone Partners, a private-equity firm in Michigan, had been terminated. Calls to Capitol (CBCRQ) and ValStone were not immediately returned.

Business development companies have stepped into a void left by other lenders, more are going public, and they could boost the leveraged-loan market.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended December 8.

Ameris Bancorp (ABCB) in Moultrie, Ga., has announced a streamlining plan that includes closing or selling about 20% of its branches.

A Chicago pension fund wants the banks to pay for losses on mortgage-backed securities because of their trustee roles, but the banks argue any blame lies with others.